Rhyme and Reason
by Ruphira
Summary: Oh, the Harvest Goddess needs help? Well, that's reassuring. Not to mention half Castanet's population has up and left. With a little elbow grease, maybe Carina can get the island on its feet again-but could be she's there to help in more ways than one..


_**A/N: Okie, this is based on the Molly character in Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. Hope you enjoy reading it!**_

_**By the way, please bear with me…I'm still trying to get the time lapse symbols to work. ^^;**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon series. I never did and, sadly, I never will.**_

PROLOGUE

It was a dark and stormy night.

Carina stood under the canopy of the cheap diner and watched the sheets of rain fall in heavy droplets against the black asphalt road. A woman in a fur stole and heels minced up to her, taking refuge under the canopy. Her perfect blonde curls were protected by a stylish matching hat. Hailing a passing taxi, she sped away into the night, framed by wide splashes.

The brunette pulled up the collar of her yellow windbreaker and hoped it would provide some protection as she ventured toward the hostel. Stepping into the rain, she ducked her head down and jogged quickly across the road. She felt the greasiness of her meal beginning to come back to haunt her.

Arriving at the hostel, she threw open the door and ducked inside. The staircase was dimly lit, and the chill of the rain pressed through the walls to reach the tenants. She squeezed by a long queue of people waiting on the staircase. As she entered the common sleeping area, she shook off her wet jacket and rubbed her arms for warmth.

Looking around, she noticed that many of the other beds were already occupied, mostly by young backpackers. A few out-of-work, middle-aged men snored soundly, the majority drunk out of their minds. Lately, nature seemed to be a little unbalanced everywhere, and the economy was feelings its effects harshly. Carina knew that as well as anybody. Sighing, she sat down on the bed and pulled her rain-soaked shoes off. She wondered if the bathroom was free—a quick, hot shower was just what she wanted right now.

No…that's probably what the line was about. Stretching her legs and arms, she reclined on the hard, lumpy mattress and prepared for another sleepless night. And another empty day.

"Hey! There you are!"

The tiny, high-pitched voice spoke right into her ear. Carina whirled her head around to see who was talking, but all she saw was a snoring, stubble-chinned man grasping an empty beer bottle in his dangling hand in the bunk across from her. She decided that the statement wasn't directed at her, and slumped back against the mattress.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Sitting up again, Carina narrowed her eyes and scrutinized her companions—the men and women sprawled in the beds, waiting restlessly for sleep. None stirred.

"I'm right HERE! How can you miss me? HELLOOOO!"

This time, the voice was accompanied by an irate little tug on the back of her collar. Carina leapt up with a shout and arched her back, hoping a bug hadn't just crawled down her shirt. Several of her fellow tenants looked up at her in annoyance.

Suddenly, she felt tickling around her neck and jaw. Swatting at it frantically, her hands met a tiny, humanlike form. But as soon as she felt wings—sheer, delicate wings far too big for any dragonfly—she let out a shrill scream. GIANT BUGS!

One giant, hulking man stood up clumsily and grasped her tightly by her shoulders. "Look, missh," he slurred, his breath stinking of stale beer, "ya clear out and take your show elsewhere, or…ya shut upp. Awrigh'?"

"B-but—there's something buzzing around—it's huge!"

He released his vice-like grip on her, pushing her backwards slightly. "I dun see nothin'. Maybeh ye'd be better off in the psych ward." He gave a wheezy laugh.

"We all would," someone chimed in. The entire group laughed then, hollowly.

Trembling, Carina sat back down. She rubbed her arms for warmth and curled up on the bed, praying for sleep to come. But the giant bed bug was persistent. _Have I gone nuts? Should I head to the psych ward? Maybe it was the soup?_

"LOOK AT ME! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU!"

Carina opened her eyes widely, startled and terrified of what she would see. A tiny orange person hovered right in front of her nose, waving his thin arms in frustration. He was surrounded in a golden, sparkling aura.

She fell off the bed.

"Heehee, what a klutz!" The little elflike being flitted around her head, sparkles trailing behind him. "Oh well, at least you noticed me finally~"

Rubbing her eyes, Carina sat up and allowed herself another look at—him? Well, whatever it was, it resembled a male human. Sort of.

She stared up at him. "Ahhhh, what the he—"

"Alright, that's enough." A skinny (but intimidating nonetheless) boy stood up and advanced towards her. "Some of us have to look for work tomorrow. We need rest, yeah? If you can't take sleeping seriously, you…" Glaring at her, he struggled to come up with a real killing remark.

The tiny yellow man pulled at her collar. "Come on, let's get away from these guys!"

Her mouth fell open, but she scrambled to her feet and followed the dazzling little sprite out of the room. _Get ahold of yourself, girl—what are you DOING? _The Voice of Reason was ignored.

The sparkling elf led her out into the night, where a steady rain still fell. Carina wished fleetingly that she'd thought to grab her coat like a sane person before chasing an overzealous sprite only she could see into the rain. Like a sane person.

"It took me forever to find you! I'm so excited!"

"Oh," she said faintly, dazed. The little fairy thing buzzed and bobbed around dizzyingly.

"You must have lots of questions!" he said, bubbling over with excitement. He landed on her shoulder, and then took off again energetically.

"Yeah," Carina replied, noncommittal. She sat down cross-legged on the grass and rubbed her eyes again.

"Okay great! See, the Harvest Goddess sent me out to find you, which wasn't easy by the way because she said you'd be on a train. So I checked the train but you weren't there, and then I had to check your house. That's a lot of flying. And it was for nothing! So I came back here and checked the whooooooole city, and then when I finally find you, you're sitting in the middle of this greasy diner with a bunch of slobs and ignore me, and I had to eat some of that soup because I was so hungry but it was SO GROSS! When I looked up you were gone again, and—"

"Who _are _you?" Carina interrupted, looking at him blearily.

Stopping mid-flight, the fairy put his hands on his hips and stuck his chest out proudly. "I'm Finn, the Harvest Goddess's most trusted Harvest Sprite!"

Carina looked unimpressed.

"Am I hallucinating, then? Because the only thing I've had to eat since breakfast two days ago is that soup." Finn rolled his eyes.

"No! I have a lot to teach you…" He shook his head and ascended higher above her. "But anyway, we really have to get going! She was looking for you, so you're important."

The young woman didn't reply. When Finn glanced down at her again, he saw her curled up under a bench, sound asleep. Sighing deeply, he settled down to get some rest as well. He knew when to give up…

"So, you're telling me that I'm supposed to answer to this goddess that I've never heard of, and save a town?"

Carina and Finn sat at the side of a dusty road. There was no settlement in sight, just green and golden fields for miles, as far as the eye could see.

Finn got up off her shoulder and started flittering around. "More or less," he replied. "I can't believe you've never heard of her—you must be from the pit of despair!"

Carina chuckled, thinking of the tall, gray, emotionless city she called home. "You could say that."

"How sad! But you were the one she requested, specifically. And you're the only one who can see me."

Her eyes widened. "Ohhh, that makes so much sense…" she murmured, thinking of the agitated hostel tenants. Then, after a pause, "No, it doesn't. Why?"

Finn swirled around her. "I don't knowwww, I'm just doing what I was told! By the way, how does this thumbs-up thing work again? You're complimenting the drivers to get a ride?"

Carina craned her neck, staring at the motorcycle a ways down the road. "It's called hitchhiking. Nice people—and sometimes creeps—pick you up and take you as far as they can. Sometimes."

"Oh," Finn said doubtfully. "That sounds risky."

"Yeah, it is. But they don't have taxi service out here."

"Even if they did, you don't have any money," Finn quipped. Carina snorted and swatted at him playfully.

"Speaking of which…this job-hunting thing, it's not just for me. If I helped this goddess, would there be money for…oh, say, four people to live on?"

The sprite alighted thoughtfully on her shoulder. "If you work hard, yes," he said after a moment. "But it won't be easy. Don't worry though; I'll be here to help you!" The brunette smiled, closing her eyes to the sun, and let relief wash over her.

Finn let her sit like that for awhile, and then patted her cheek to get her attention. The dust cloud behind the motorcycle was now clearly in view. Carina eyed the one-seater vehicle and decided that there was no way the cyclist would squish her in there. Sighing, she sat back down in the ditch where there was some protection from the sun.

Above her, Finn flipped out. "What are you doing? We need a ride! We might not even see another car on this road for the next three days! He's doing a good job! Give him a thumbs-up!"

She covered her eyes with her arm. "It won't work, Finn. I can't fit on that motorcycle, it's a little one built for one passenger. There's no point."

Finn buzzed around wildly. "You have to try! He's passing you—you're just going to lie there?"

"Yep." Carina was unremorseful. Finn whizzed around crazily until he burnt himself out and landed on the roadside, glaring stubbornly at the highway.

An hour or more passed. The blazing sun moved across the sky, hitting the precise angle where it could burn Carina under the protective layer of brush. She rolled over with an irritated groan—and then heard the sound of wooden cartwheels rattling down the dusty road. She sat up and brushed the hair out of her eyes, searching the route hopefully.

A horse pulling a cart full of hay was making its way slowly down the road. A middle-aged, muscled man sat at the front of the cart staring, bored, at the horse. Carina clawed her way up from the ditch and ran to the side of the road.

The horse saw her in the corner of his eye. He stopped and whinnied, startled. The man glanced up and studied her curiously. Shyly, she smiled and gave the hitchhiking thumb.

He grinned at her. "Hello there—where ya headed?"

Finn flitted to her ear. "Harmonica Town, Castanet!"

"Harmonica Town, Castanet, sir," she replied brightly. He looked startled.

"Well, that's mighty fortunate," he remarked. "That's where I live! Well, er…" He turned around and regarded at his full cart. "There's not much room, but I suppose you could squeeze on the back, if that's alright."

Carina beamed. "That'd be perfect, sir, thank you!" Eagerly, she clambered on the back of the cart and reclined against the bales of hay.

"Giddyup!"

The cart lurched to a start. Carina closed her eyes, glad that the harsh sunlight had abated, and began to doze.

_**A/N: Ta-da. So, please let me know what you thought…any and all critique is welcome. :)**_


End file.
